The mayor of Deer Lake is upset that the Newfoundland and Labrador government has no plans to replace an unsafe bridge in his town.

Transportation officials closed access to a concrete bridge at Nicholsville on Monday, on grounds that it is too risky for even pedestrians to use it. 

Transportation officials have closed an aging bridge that connects Deer Lake with Nicholsville.
(CBC)

Deer Lake Mayor Darryl Kelly supports the decision to close the bridge, but wants the government to commit to replacing it.

As well, Kelly dismisses the government's claims that residents can use another bridge about three kilometres away. To do so, he said, requires pedestrians to use a high-speed highway.

"Many citizens just don't have a vehicle," he said.

"I have a great concern about safety, because if they walk that highway —where the speed limit is 90 kilometres — in the evening and in the nights, there are no street lights and the shoulder of the road is very narrow."

Transportation Minister John Hickey said earlier this week that the government has much greater priorities for bridge repairs and suggested the Nicholsville bridge — which was built in 1940 — may not even be replaced.

Agreement includes bridge maintenance: town

Kelly said a March 1997 amalgamation agreement stipulates that the provincial government will maintain the bridge until a new one is built. A new bridge would be the responsibility of Deer Lake. 

Deer Lake Mayor Darryl Kelly said pedestrians should not have to venture onto a highway.
(CBC)

Town manager Bob Hiscock, meanwhile, said the bridge also contains a water and sewer line that serves Deer Lake and the neighbouring community of Reidville.

"In the event there's a break on the bridge and we cannot get on the bridge to fix the water break, then technically, they're out of water," Hiscock said.

"In the case of an emergency — a firefighting situation — that gives us great concern."

Kelly said the town council is demanding a meeting with provincial government officials to press for a new bridge.

Hickey said a new bridge at Nicholsville could cost between $4 million and $6 million and that the project will be considered during the annual budgeting process next year.